LONDON (AP) — Trucks waiting to get out of Britain are backing up for miles and people are stranded at airports as many countries impose stringent travel restrictions over concerns about a new strain of the coronavirus that authorities say may spread more easily. A growing number of countries are halting air travel from the U.K., while France has banned…
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new COVID-19 relief bill shaping up in Congress includes individual payments reaching $600 for most Americans and an extra $300 a week in unemployment benefits. Votes on the bill in the House and Senate are expected Monday. The COVID bill would pump $900 billion into relief efforts. Among those getting help are hard-hit businesses, schools, health…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Top negotiators in Congress have sealed a deal on an almost $1 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package. Lawmakers announced the agreement Sunday after days of negotiations, and passage by Congress is expected Monday. The agreement would establish a temporary $300 per week supplemental jobless benefits and $600 direct stimulus payments to most Americans, along with a fresh…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General William Barr, one of President Donald Trump’s staunchest allies, is resigning amid lingering tension with the president over the president’s baseless claims of election fraud and the investigation into President-elect Joe Biden’s son. Barr went to the White House on Monday, where Trump said he submitted his letter of resignation. Trump has publicly expressed his…
(courtesy: Facebook/Biden) WASHINGTON (AP) – The Electoral College has formally validated Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. Biden cleared the 270-vote threshold on Monday after California’s electors cast their votes for the Democrat. When all of the states finish voting, Biden is expected to lead President Donald Trump 306-232. The Electoral College vote is normally a procedural step…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presidential electors are meeting across the United States to formally choose Joe Biden as the nation’s next president. Monday is the day set by law for the meeting of the Electoral College. In reality, electors meet in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to cast their ballots. The results will be sent to Washington and…
PORTAGE, Mich. (AP) — The first of many COVID-19 vaccine doses are making their way to distribution sites across the United States, as the nation’s pandemic deaths approach the horrifying new milestone of 300,000. The rollout Sunday of the Pfizer vaccine, the first to be approved by the FDA, ushers in the biggest vaccination effort in U.S. history — one…
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court has rejected a lawsuit backed by President Donald Trump to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory, ending a desperate attempt to get legal issues rejected by state and federal judges before the nation’s highest court. Trump had called the lawsuit filed by Texas against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin “the big…
(courtesy: CNN) MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin Air National Guard unit has grounded its pilots while the fatal crash of an F-16 fighter jet is being investigated, and authorities on Friday identified the pilot who died as a decorated combat veteran who had flown in three tours of duty. The Madison-based 115th Fighter Wing said Air Force Capt. Durwood…
(AP) – The head of the FDA says his agency has told Pfizer it “will rapidly work” to grant emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine following a positive recommendation by government advisers. Many FDA observers predict action by Saturday ahead of a Sunday meeting by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Federal officials plan to allocate the first 6.4…
WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. government advisory panel endorsed widespread use of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine Thursday, putting the country just one step away from launching an epic vaccination campaign against the outbreak that has killed close to 300,000 Americans. Shots could begin within days, depending on how quickly the Food and Drug Administration signs off, as expected, on the expert…
PHOENIX (AP) — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit that sought to decertify Democrat President-elect Joe Biden’s win over Republican President Donald Trump in Arizona. Judge Diane Humetewa said the lawsuit’s allegations “are sorely wanting of relevant or reliable evidence” and that granting the relief it sought would disenfranchise millions of voters. The challenge alleged the state’s election systems have…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people applying for unemployment aid jumped last week to 853,000, the most since September, evidence that some companies are cutting more jobs as new virus cases spiral higher. The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of applications increased from 716,000 the previous week. Before the coronavirus paralyzed the economy in March, weekly jobless…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden is nominating Denis McDonough, who was President Barack Obama’s White House chief of staff, as secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The sprawling agency has presented organizational challenges for both parties over the years. Biden is continuing to stockpile his incoming administration with prominent members of Obama’s team. Biden plans to make the…
(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File) WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government and 48 states and districts sued Facebook Wednesday, accusing it of abusing its market power in social networking to crush smaller competitors and seeking remedies that could include a forced spinoff of the social network’s Instagram and WhatsApp messaging services. It marks the second U.S. offensive against a Big Tech…
(AP Photo/Michel Euler) CLEVELAND, Oh. – On Wednesday, ArcelorMittal announced the sale of ArcelorMittal USA to Cleveland-Cliffs has been completed. According to reports, the sale was for $1.4 billion in cash and shares. The deal, announced in September by the companies, makes Cleveland-Cliffs the largest flat-rolled steel and iron ore pellet producer in North America. “I would like to thank…
LONDON (AP) — British regulators have warned that people who have a history of serious allergic reactions shouldn’t receive the new Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as they investigate two adverse reactions that occurred on the first day of the country’s mass vaccination program. The U.K.’s Medical and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency is looking into whether the reactions were linked to the vaccine….
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army says it has fired or suspended 14 officers and enlisted soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, and ordered policy changes to address chronic leadership failures at the base that contributed to a widespread pattern of violence including murder, sexual assaults and harassment. Two general officers are among those being removed from their jobs, as top Army…
LONDON (AP) — A retired British shop clerk has received the first shot in the country’s COVID-19 vaccination program, the start of an unprecedented global immunization effort intended to offer a route out of a pandemic that has killed 1.5 million. The U.K. is the first Western country to start a mass vaccination program after British regulators last week authorized…
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health regulators say in their initial review that the vaccine from Pfizer is 95% protective against COVID-19. The review posted online Tuesday by the Food and Drug Administration offers the world the first detailed look at the evidence behind the shot, which was co-developed with BioNTech. The FDA review comes before a Thursday meeting where a…
NEW DELHI (AP) — At least one person has died and 200 others have been hospitalized due to an unidentified illness in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, reports said Monday. The illness was detected Saturday evening in Eluru, an ancient city famous for its hand-woven products. Since then, patients have experienced symptoms ranging from nausea and anxiety to…
(FOX-TV) – Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is critically deteriorating according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN. The reef is the world’s most extensive stretch of coral reef with over 1,500 species of fish and about 400 types of coral. This week, the union released a report saying climate change is now the biggest threat to World Heritage sites….
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Tony Evers has ordered the U.S. and state flags to be flown at half-staff on Monday for National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. The attack on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor on the Hawaiian island of O’ahu took the lives of 2,403 Americans and injured 1,178 others. “Each year, Wisconsin remembers the bravery…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Sunday his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani has tested positive for the coronavirus, making him the latest in Trump’s inner circle to contract the disease that is now surging across the U.S. The 76-year-old former New York mayor has traveled extensively to battleground states in recent days and weeks in an effort to help…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Democratic-controlled House has approved a bill to decriminalize and tax marijuana at the federal level. The bill would reverse what supporters called a failed policy of criminalizing pot use and take steps to address racial disparities in the enforcement of federal drug laws. Opponents, mostly Republicans, called the bill a hollow political gesture and mocked Democrats…
WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers scaled back their hiring last month as the viral pandemic accelerated across the country, adding 245,000 jobs, the fewest since April and the fifth straight monthly slowdown. At the same time, the unemployment rate to a still-high 6.7%, from 6.9% in October, the Labor Department said. November’s job gain was down from 610,000 in October….
WASHINGTON (AP) – Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s chief infectious disease expert, says there was never a question that he would accept President-elect Joe Biden’s offer to serve as his chief medical officer and adviser on the coronavirus pandemic. Fauci told NBC’s “Today” show on Friday, “I said yes right on the spot” after Biden asked him to serve during…
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Americans couldn’t resist the urge to gather for Thanksgiving. That’s according to data from roadways and airports provided to The Associated Press. Americans drove only slightly less than a year ago and largely ignored the pleas of public health experts, who begged them to forgo holiday travel to help contain the coronavirus pandemic. The nation’s…
NEW YORK (AP) — An influential government advisory panel says health care workers and nursing home residents should be at the front of the line when the first coronavirus vaccine shots become available. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 13-1 on Tuesday to recommend priority be given to those groups in the first days of any coming vaccination program…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General William Barr said Tuesday that the Justice Department has not uncovered evidence of widespread voter fraud and has seen nothing that would change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. In an interview with The Associated Press, Barr said U.S. attorneys and FBI agents have been working diligently to follow up on specific complaints and…
NEW YORK (AP) — An influential scientific panel on Tuesday is set to tackle one of the most pressing questions in the U.S. coronavirus epidemic: When the first doses of COVID-19 vaccine become available, who should be at the front of the line for shots? The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet in an open-to-the-public, virtual meeting to vote…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen is describing the economic crisis brought on by the COVID pandemic as an “American tragedy” and warning that without quick action to address it, the damage will get worse. Introducing herself during a Joe Biden transition event where the president-elect unveiled his economic team, Yellen spoke about the “historic crises” of the…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Arizona officials have certified Joe Biden’s narrow victory over President Donald Trump in the state. Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and Republican Gov. Doug Ducey stood up for the integrity of the election even as lawyers for Trump were across town Monday arguing without evidence to nine Republican lawmakers that the election was marred by fraud….
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is returning to Washington for one last attempt at deal-making this year. The only absolute must-do is preventing a government shutdown on Dec. 11. But lawmakers are also debating whether to deliver another round of coronavirus relief before President Donald Trump leaves office. A virus bill would provide funding for vaccines and testing, for reopening schools,…
(courtesy: Michigan Republicans) ESCANABA, Mich. (AP) — Tom Casperson, a former state lawmaker from the Upper Peninsula who cast a key vote to expand Medicaid and built alliances with labor unions, has died at age 61. Casperson, a Republican from Escanaba, died Sunday. He had been stricken with cancer. Fellow Republicans in the Senate called Casperson a “titan of the…
(AP) – Moderna Inc. says it will ask U.S. and European regulators to allow emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine as new study results confirm the shots offer strong protection. Multiple vaccine candidates must succeed for the world to stamp out the coronavirus pandemic. Moderna is just behind Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech in seeking to begin vaccinations in…
(AP) – The nation’s top infectious disease expert says that the U.S. may see a “surge upon a surge” of the coronavirus over the coming weeks, and he does not expect current recommendations around social distancing to be relaxed before Christmas. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also says it’s “not too…
(FOX NEWS) – Americans are still traveling for the holidays. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued warnings against traveling over the holiday. While the overall number of travelers is still down, the TSA still reported a massive spike in the number of people passing through airports. Thanksgiving is often one of the busiest…
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A federal appeals court in Philadelphia has rejected President Donald Trump’s latest effort to challenge the election results in a case expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court if Trump appeals. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals echoed a string of other courts in finding his campaign offered no evidence of any election fraud. Instead, the…
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will leave the White House if the Electoral College formalizes President-Elect Joe Biden’s victory even as he insisted such a decision would be a “mistake.” Trump spent his Thanksgiving renewing claims that “massive fraud” and crooked officials in battleground states caused his election defeat even though there is no evidence…
National security adviser General Michael Flynn delivers a statement daily briefing at the White House in Washington U.S., February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has pardoned former national security adviser Michael Flynn, taking direct aim in the final days of his administration at a Russia investigation that he has long insisted was motivated by political…
NEW YORK (AP) — The pandemic may have upended most traditions this holiday season, but the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will march on with balloons, dancers, floats, Broadway shows, and Santa all heavily tweaked for safety. The biggest change this year is that the usual 2 1/2-mile route through crowded Manhattan has been scrapped in favor of concentrating events…
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democrat Joe Biden was certified Tuesday as the winner of the presidential election in Pennsylvania, culminating three weeks of vote counting and a string of failed legal challenges by President Donald Trump. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf first disclosed in a tweet that the Department of State had certified the vote count for president and vice president….
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden is preparing to formally announce his national security team to the nation. Those being introduced during a Tuesday afternoon event are among Obama administration alumni whose roles in the upcoming administration signal Biden’s shift away from the Trump administration’s “America First” policies. The picks include former Secretary of State John Kerry to take…
LONDON (AP) – Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca says that late-stage trials showed its coronavirus vaccine was up to 90% effective, giving public health officials hope they may soon have access to a vaccine that is cheaper and easier to distribute than some of its rivals. The results announced Monday are based on an interim analysis of trials in the U.K. and…
(Antioch Police Department via AP) KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — A 17-year-old from Illinois who is charged with killing two people during a protest in Wisconsin and whose case has become a rallying cry for some conservatives, posted $2 million bail Friday and was released from custody. Kyle Rittenhouse is accused of fatally shooting Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounding…
ATLANTA (AP) — A hand tally of the ballots cast in the presidential race has been completed. The results released Thursday by the secretary of state’s office affirm Democrat Joe Biden’s narrow lead over Republican President Donald Trump. The hand recount of about 5 million votes stemmed from an audit required by new state law and wasn’t in response to…
(AP) – Pfizer is set to ask U.S. regulators to allow emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine, starting a process that could bring first shots as early as next month. Friday’s step comes days after Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech announced its vaccine appears 95% protective in a large but not yet finished study. Over the next few weeks,…
WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci is recommending “uniform wearing of masks” to help curb the surge of coronavirus cases in the United States. The nation’s top infectious disease expert told CNN on Tuesday that “we need to intensify public health strategies,” which include wearing masks, washing hands, and avoiding places where people gather. The U.S hit a record daily high…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — President Donald Trump could file for a recount in Wisconsin as soon as Tuesday, once the final county submits its certification of the election results. All but Brown County, where Green Bay is located, had already turned in their official canvass reports ahead of Tuesday’s deadline. Based on those reports, there was minimal change to the…
